Q: How can I get information about another user if he or she is currently online? Type /whois <nickname> or for even more info /whois <nickname> <nickname> That's right, type their nick twice. Q: How do I quit IRC with a message after I leave? Type /quit <quit message here>. Again, check the help files of your IRC client for alternate (easier) ways to do this. Q: How do I set myself away when I'm away from my computer? To set yourself "away," type /away <message explaining why you are away>. To set yourself back from being away, just type /away. This will eliminate your away message. Again, consult you client for alternate methods Q How can I get a list of all of the users on from a certain hostmask? You type /who *.host.net You can put in any hostmask you want. They are in the form nick!ident@host. Q: What are channel "modes"? These are options which can be set on channels by the channel ops. They are as follows +t Only ops can change the topic. +n Only people who are actually in the channel can speak in it. Otherwise you can do /msg <#channel> <message> +i Invite Only - Only people who are invited into the channel can join it. +m Moderated - Only users with "@" or "+" may talk +k Key - A key is necessary to join the channel. You need to type /join <#channel> <key> +l Limit - Only a certain number of users may join a channel. +p Private - People cannot see you are in this channel if they /whois you, and the channel does not show in /list. +s Secret - People cannot see you are in this channel if they /whois you and the channel does not show in /list.

Note on the difference between +p and +s For a channel which is neither +p nor +s, a user who is not in the channel may type /who #channel and see a list of everyone who is in the channel. For a +s channel, they can not do this. For a +p channel, they will only see users who are user mode -i. Q: User modes? What are they? A user mode is a "mode" which can be set on a user. As you saw, channel modes are options which effect a channel. So, as you can guess, user modes are options for a user. They are set by typing /mode <your nick> +<mode> and unset by typing /mode <your nick> -<mode> The current usermodes are i Invisible, you will not show up in a /who. d Deaf, you will see no chat in the channels you are in. This is used by channel bots (like X), not regular users. Q: What exactly is a ban? A ban is an extra channel mode, +b. It allows an operator to block someone from joining a channel. They (or you, if you are an operator) do this by typing /mode <#channel> +b <host mask> For instance, if a user joins your channel, and you see lamer (iamlame@ppp-123.lamers-r-us.com) has joined #testing

You can ban them several different ways, depending on how "strong" you want the ban to be. Strength is determined by the specificity of the ban. When you look at a user's host mask, which in the above example is iamlame@ppp-123.lamers-r-us.com it comes in several parts, delineated by .s and an @ The part before the @ is known as the "ident" - and the part after the @ is known as the "host" The user's nickname is known, as the nick. Bans are in the format nick!ident@host So to ban this user with a "weak" type of ban, you are very specific /mode #testing +b lamer!iamlame@ppp-123.lamers-r-us.com Anyone with that exact matching "host mask" will be banned, of course, only 1 person matches that. But if you wanted to create a stronger ban, you could do /mode #testing +b *!iamlame@ppp-123.lamers-r-us.com This would prevent the user from coming back even if they changed their nick. However, they could still reconnect to their ISP, so that their actual host changed. To be sure they can't return, you could do /mode #testing +b *!*@*.lamers-r-us.com While this will prevent their returning, (as long as they don't have an account on another ISP, which they very well might), it will prevent someone else from lamers-r-us.com from coming into your channel to. And who knows if everyone from lamers-r-us.com really is as undesirable as this person was? So, it is best to pick a ban that is somewhere in the middle, so as to not make it too hard for anyone else to join, while still making it hard enough for the person you want to ban to return. Q: Argh! There's really something wrong with the people in this channel that I've just joined! What can I do about it?! They're being *very* offensive! At times on IRC, you may also encounter people or channels which you find offensive or disturbing and wonder why the network "permits" such channels. Again, remember that the Tupacfan is an unmoderated chat network staffed entirely by volunteers. There is simply no way for anyone to monitor the thousands of channels on the network adequately. There are also many legal issues here. But regardless, just like in the real world, not everyone on IRC is the same. Look around though and you're sure to find tons of people who you enjoy chatting with. Q: Okay, I've logged on and started chatting -- but I still have a thousand more questions! How long is this guide anyway? Not that long. If you still need help after reading this help files you can writte me a Email. Admin@tupacfan.org You are always welcome on #userguide, where we will do our best to answer any other questions you may have. IRC is a fantastic way to meet new people and learn about the world around you. Take advantage of this opportunity and come make new friends, introduce yourself to different cultures, and enjoy all that the Undernet has to offer you. We're looking forward to seeing you online!   =================================================================================